Even so, there may be a very solid reason to vote for him over Hillary.

* * *

Oligarch I or Oligarch II? Hillary significantly differs from Trump in one way only: she is a bureaucrat in search of a bureaucracy. Even so, given the demographic profile of the general election electorate, she should slam-dunk Trump -- but don´t bet on it. So far, Trump is running a "C -" campaign; Hillary, a "D." *

Our post of March 21, 2016, "Why I Will Not Vote in 2016 -- and You Shouldn´t Either," gave rational and logical reasons for not voting. But what about readers who find non-participation to be morally unacceptable? For you, is there a realistic alternative to Hillary or Trump for president?

There is a third way. It is how you can effectively vote for Neither of The Above.

No, it does not involve a third party candidate.

The Third Way Gambit

As we will show in a forthcoming post, Bernie Sanders could have knocked out Hillary early, thereby eliminating the need for this post. He had neither the political acumen nor experienced campaign staff to get the job done. Ergo, baring exceptional circumstances, e.g., indictment for email "irregularities," Hillary will be the Democrat nominee.

How low is "low"? As of this month, Hillary´s favorability rating in the Gallup poll continues to capsize. Most Americans plainly don´t trust her. Even so, the historical record shows that if elected president, Hillary will be in the White House for 8 years. Think about that.

Trump is different.

Will he reach the 50% threshold of delegates necessary to win outright the Republican nomination or will a brokered convention occur? At present, it looks close either way. And that is exactly the point ...

In exchange for handing Trump the nomination, Trump will need to accord Republican power-brokers the right to pick Trump´s running mate. The choice of the VP candidate will be a small price to pay for sparing Trump (and the party) a ruinous, mean-as-snakes, divided convention. An artful deal, it is a vintage win-win situation.

All over the world people are wondering what would happen if Trump were elected president. Here is a likely -- and realistic -- scenario:

Trump and his staff are incorrigibly naive, clumsy. The odds are Trump will commit at least one impeachable offense within six months of taking office on January 20, 2017. In case he has trouble committing "Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors,"** there will be plenty of people around to help him.

​I have in mind a T-shirt that explains the situation: "Humpty Dumpty was pushed."

As everybody knows, neither Democrats nor Republicans in Congress support Trump. Impeachment will fly through the House. The subsequent trial by the Senate will be, as we say in the political trade, "greased."

Trump will be out. The vice president will be in. There he is -- the nonTrump-nonClinton alternative president in 2017. The Third Way. Exactly what you wanted.

Or is it?

Romney? Cruz? Kasich? Rubio? Somebody else? Republican convention power brokers had better think long and hard about their choice of the next president -- oops, sorry, I mean candidate for vice president.______________*"I believe Hillary is set to crash. She is a priest without faith, a doctor without intuition. Her idea of a political commitment is a cocktail party. To date, she is running the same paint-by-the-numbers campaign that cost her the Democratic nomination in 2008. Such candidates are on rails; they can move only straight ahead or backward, never side-to-side. A switch pulled unexpectedly, a well-placed obstacle on the track, and they are irredeemably derailed." Quote from our post of August 22, 2015, "President Trump?"

If you think I am being unduly harsh in my assessment of Trump´s campaign, I know somebody who disagrees with you: Donald Trump. A few weeks ago, he brought in an experienced Republican operative to take things in hand. (Note made April 28, 2015).